Owls offense struggling through practice

Temple's Nathan Hairston, covered by Nate Smith (1), reaches up for the ball during Saturday's scrimmage. The Owls open their season Aug. 31. DAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer

By Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: August 20, 2012

Another scrimmage, another sloppy performance.

For the second straight Saturday, Temple's offense committed costly penalties, had procedural issues, and struggled to get plays off on time.

The Owls open their season Aug. 31 in the Mayor's Cup against Villanova at Lincoln Financial Field.

"It is frustrating," Temple quarterback Chris Coyer said. "That is something that we really have to fix."

Having players see limited action could have contributed to the struggles. Coyer, center Sean Boyle, and running backs Montel Harris and Matt Brown weren't in long enough to work up a good sweat.

"When you do that you're probably taking the rhythm out," Temple coach Steve Addazio said. "I think I did that today. But that's OK.

"I really wanted to see some other guys. I really wanted to see some other things."

With Coyer on the sideline, backup quarterback Juice Granger saw action with the first-team offense, while third-stringer Kevin Newsome saw some plays with the second unit.

"You start doing that stuff, there's no chemistry and cohesiveness," Addazio said. "Nobody's fault. Just sometimes, you get the results that you get and get aggravated."

Coyer thinks some players could have become mentally fatigued after being on the field for an extended period.

"We can't afford to do that this year," he said. "That's something we really got to work on out there on the field.

"It's something we had a little bit more of a problem with some of the younger guys. But it's something our first unit has to work on as well."

Newsome no longer looks lost at practice.

The Penn State transfer, who last played football in 2010, was comfortable behind center Saturday.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder also was difficult to bring down while carrying the ball in the open field.

The junior had 8- and 9-yard runs on quarterback keepers on consecutive plays during one series.

Newsome left Penn State in August 2011. He enrolled at Tidewater Community College in Virginia. Upon completing his course work, Newsome arrived at Temple on Aug. 3, the day before the start of training camp.